Internet system for virtual telepresence

摘要

The present invention is an interactive virtual telepresence system that allows an Internet user to view three-dimensional objects from any perspective in a studio at a remote server. The system includes several video cameras trained on the three-dimensional objects and a computer that calculates the depth information of the solid. The server broadcasts each camera view and depth information for each view. A user selects the viewing perspective desired, and the computer at the user's site receives the nearest camera views to the requested perspective and depth information of each of the views for the interpolation and renders the selected view. The invention also applies to virtual viewpoints where a virtual three-dimensional model image is stored on a network server. The server uses virtual cameras that obtain a rendered image and depth information for a particular viewpoint and sends the rendered image and the depth information to a user.